<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>in the night (come alive) by stormss</title>
<style type="text/css">

body { background-color: #ffffff; }
.CI {
text-align:center;
margin-top:0px;
margin-bottom:0px;
padding:0px;
}
.center   {text-align: center;}
.cover    {text-align: center;}
.full     {width: 100%; }
.quarter  {width: 25%; }
.smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
.u        {text-decoration: underline;}
.bold     {font-weight: bold;}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/22761337">in the night (come alive)</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/stormss/pseuds/stormss'>stormss</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>9-1-1: Lone Star (TV 2020)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Coda, Developing Relationship, Flirting, M/M, Missing Scene, Team as Family</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-02-16</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-02-16</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-04-28 11:49:49</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,108</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/22761337</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/stormss/pseuds/stormss</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>"Well, I did have an idea," TK says, eyes bright and all-consuming. "Let's go dancing." </p>
<p>*</p>
<p>Missing scenes from 1x05</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Carlos Reyes (9-1-1 Lone Star)/TK Strand</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>401</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>9-1-1 Lone Star ▶ Carlos Reyes / Tyler Kennedy "TK" Strand</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>in the night (come alive)</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>hello! i really loved the dynamic between tk, carlos and paul that we saw during 1x05, and this is completely inspired by my wish to see more of that!! the title comes from <em>in the night</em> by deb never. </p>
<p>i've also made a tumblr for lone star rambling!! come say hi and/or send prompts <a href="http://reyesstrand.tumblr.com/"> @reyesstrand!! </a></p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>TK tries not to be obvious about it. </p>
<p>He can't help but to notice it, though; the tenseness of Paul's shoulders, the way his whole posture seems to droop the moment Josie gives him a quick hug before walking away. He swallows, unsure where to look, and he pathetically holds out a coffee to the defeated man when he approaches. TK doesn't have the words, and he can only understand so much about the situation his friend is in, and so he tries not to take it too hard when Paul shakes his head at the offering and clearly isn't in the mood to talk. When Paul disappears out of his sight, TK sighs and ends up putting the second coffee back on the counter, rubbing at the back of his neck before he retreats to the second-level of the firehouse, seeking out a quiet place to think. And maybe text Carlos. </p>
<p>He's already got a message waiting for him when he pulls his phone from his pocket, his body is in desperate need of the caffeine as he looks down the barrel of a twelve-hour shift in a less than happy mood. But Carlos' name on his screen lightens the twisting feeling in his chest a little bit, especially once he reads the text: <em>my desk partner clocked that hickey you left on me within seconds, asshole</em></p>
<p>TK bites back a smirk, because they'd tried to keep up with a rule about no visible marks for this exact reason and it had lasted less than a week. He'd sucked a pretty impressive bruise just under Carlos' jaw in the heat of the moment last night, without even really <em>meaning </em>to, all because Carlos was stupidly good at Mario Kart — of all things — and TK was left with no choice but to distract him. He still did horribly, though. </p>
<p><em>should've let me win, </em>TK types back, already feeling better at the easy back-and-forth that's felt natural since the first time they met. He knocks back the rest of his coffee and moves to put his mug in the kitchen sink, and he feels his phone vibrate again in his pocket but he's distracted by Paul, again, who's on lunch duty and is chopping up vegetables but just looks so out of it. Understandably. </p>
<p>"Hey, Paul—" TK starts, though he's unsure where he's actually going to go with this, so he just closes his mouth and tries to think his words over before saying them. He can't come up with anything better than: "I'm really sorry." </p>
<p>"It's not your fault, kid," Paul replies, though his voice is noticeably thick with emotion. He doesn't say anything more, and just turns back to his cutting board. TK doesn't want to keep pressing the man, so he just reaches over and squeezes his shoulder, once, before slipping out of the kitchen. He can't avoid Paul for the rest of his shift — and he doesn't want to. But he can't help but to feel like there's something he could be doing to cheer him up. He's been through his own fair share of bombed dates and break-ups, but he knows that his experience can't be compared to what Paul is going through. He tries to think of what he used to do in New York after some guy ghosted him, or left him at a restaurant after the chemistry ended up just not being there. </p>
<p>TK always loved dancing; there was something about being one moving body in a tightly-packed room, with lights flashing and a bass-line thrumming along with his heartbeat that made him sort of forget what might have happened during the day. He's felt that again while in Austin — whenever he's at the bar with the team, watching his dad line dance while everyone whistles at him, or when Carlos cooks him tamales and claims that it isn't a big deal but TK knows how much time goes into them, and it makes fire shoot up his belly. But he can't just take Paul to the same bar they all go to as a team to feel better. He needs to think of something better. </p>
<p>And so, later, when he and Carlos meet up at the taco truck that the 126 frequents for a late lunch break, he knows he's acting off. Carlos squeezes a lime wedge over his platter and trails off from his story, and looks across the table at him with his eyebrows slightly furrowed in confusion. "Hey, you okay? You're uncharacteristically quiet." </p>
<p>"Ha," TK laughs drily, before taking a long pull from his bottle of water. He shrugs his shoulders and sets his elbows on the table. "I'm fine, I swear. It's just—it's Paul."</p>
<p>Carlos sits back and lets him talk, waiting until TK gets all that he wanted to say off his chest before speaking. And TK knows that Carlos has gotten to know the other members of the crew pretty well, and Paul doesn't stand back from letting his co-workers know about his past when he trusts them, but he can't bring himself to be the one to tell Carlos <em>why </em>the man was rejected. Carlos seems to work it out on his own, though, and nods slowly when TK steals a few corn tortilla chips from his basket, looking at him for an answer. </p>
<p>"I mean, like he said, it's definitely not your fault, Ty," Carlos says, meeting TK's eyes. "But if you want, I'm sure there's something we could do to cheer him up."</p>
<p>TK brightens a little bit at the casual use of <em>we, </em>like it's a guaranteed thing that they do these sorts of things together, now. He doesn't say anything about it, but he likes the sound of them being a package deal in the eyes of their friends, even if they haven't really discusses what this <em>thing </em>between them is. </p>
<p>"Well, I did have an idea," TK says, eyes bright and all-consuming. "Let's go dancing." </p>
<p>Carlos smiles back at him. "I know a place." </p><hr/>
<p>Stepping into a club like this again is both terrifying and freeing. </p>
<p>It's nice, to be somewhere again where people like him are unabashedly themselves. Everyone around him is always so supportive that TK doesn't even feel like he's longing to just be himself somewhere, but once he and Carlos usher Paul inside, he takes a deep sigh of relief because it feels <em>right. </em>It's also slightly terrifying, because he's at the bar with the crew enough for the bartenders to know that he's sober and only drinks mineral water; here, there are so memories flooding back of shots with his small group of friends from college under strobe lights and popping pills in the bathroom before dancing until he could barely keep his eyes open. </p>
<p>He feels Carlos' arm around him, though, and that sturdy, familiar, warm line of his body pressed to his side, and he knows without a doubt that this man won't let him do anything stupid. Paul's smiling wide, his white grin almost blue in the lights, and almost immediately a woman plasters herself to his front, pulling him in for a dance that lasts several songs. TK feels some of the weight of the day lifting off his shoulders, and Carlos pulls him even closer as they find themselves at the heart of the dance floor, the music almost deafening as TK lets himself let go, knowing he has an anchor to keep him steady should he need it. </p>
<p>They dance for a long stretch of time, feeling weightless as a fog machine goes off and people cheer and sing at the top of their lungs. Carlos is still behind him, unwilling to leave his side, and he's grinning and dancing too and TK feels the sudden urge to kiss him stupid. </p>
<p>So he does. </p>
<p>He turns around to face the man and reaches up just a little, pressing their bodies together as he cups Carlos' face in his hands and kisses him hard. TK can feel Carlos' fingers tightening in his shirt near his sides as he pushes closer and kisses him back, a thrilling coil of heat tightening up in TK's stomach as Carlos' tongue slips into his mouth. The music swells around them as the bass-line grows heavier, practically shaking the room, and TK is content to just stay like this forever. After a while, they start looking for Paul, and they find him near the bar. TK leans against it, all chic and made of dark wood and glass, while Carlos orders them two waters. </p>
<p>"So?" TK half-shouts over the music, touching Paul's shoulder. "Are you regretting coming out with us?" </p>
<p>"Hell no!" Paul yells with a grin, and TK can't help but to mirror him, with a huge grin plastered to his face, too. Carlos comes back and Paul yells his thanks to him, too, and eventually they're all ready to head back out to the floor for one last dance. Afterwards, when it's almost two in the morning and they all reluctantly leave because they all start their shifts before noon, Carlos and TK drive Paul home, and the drive is comfortably silent when they're heading back to Carlos' place. When they get through the front door, they make it a few paces before Carlos has got TK backed up against the wall, a usual predicament they seem to find themselves in. </p>
<p>"You're a good friend, Tyler Kennedy," Carlos says, looking at him like he's something worthy. TK feels a shudder run through his body as Carlos presses closer, gently moving his thumb over his jaw, holding his face between his two big hands. He wants to tell Carlos that he knew that Paul would do the same for him, and that he deserved the night out. But he can't, because Carlos is relentless. </p>
<p>"It's not fair when you act all sweet—" TK's words catch in his throat as Carlos starts mouthing down his jaw, under his ear and down his neck. "—and then do this. Fuck."</p>
<p>Carlos smirks against his skin, and starts kissing and sucking at one spot in particular, the juncture where his throat meets his neck. It takes a few seconds for TK to escape the lusty haziness of his mind to realize what Carlos is doing, and he can't even bring himself to care. The hickey is formed within seconds, in a spot where his uniform won't cover the mark, very obviously revenge for the previous night. </p>
<p>"Really?" TK asks, a little bit of a whine in his voice when Carlos pulls away. He keeps his hands curved around Carlos' jaw and moves his left down a little, using his thumb to trace the bruise he left on Carlos. "It's like that, huh?" </p>
<p>"Can't help that you're a sore loser," Carlos teases, and TK's mouth drops open, though he can't help the small smile that's pulling at his lips. "Besides, we're one for one now, it's fair." </p>
<p>"Asshole," TK laughs, before lurching forward to kiss him again and again and again. </p><hr/>
<p>"How're you feeling, Strickland?" </p>
<p>TK plops down next to Paul the next afternoon, both of them nursing a coffee as they wait for something exciting to happen. It's been a pretty quiet shift so far, call-wise, and sometimes it's hard to distinguish if that's a blessing or a curse. Paul looks considerably more like himself, today, and TK wonders if he also feels like a ton of weight was lifted off his shoulders. </p>
<p>Paul meets his gaze, and his eyes are a little brighter, today, which TK takes as a good sign. "Much better, actually. Thanks again, kid." </p>
<p>"Of course," TK nudges Paul's shoulder with his own. "We gotta watch out for each other, right?" </p>
<p>"Yeah—yeah, exactly, man," Paul smiles at him, before returning to his coffee. "If we're looking out for each other, then I should probably tell you that Officer Gorgeous didn't do the best job at hiding that." </p>
<p>He gestures to his own throat, right where the collar of his uniform shirt hits his skin, and TK groans. He had almost forgotten about it himself; this morning, he and Carlos shared breakfast and talked about plans for the weekend, and maybe inviting the whole crew out one night soon. </p>
<p>"Ugh," TK says. He looks up, and of course Marjan and Judd take this moment to walk into the kitchen, and they immediately sense what's up and share smirks of their own. </p>
<p>Paul laughs, and tries to smooth things over by saying, "You two are cute!"</p>
<p>"Yeah, yeah," TK says, already walking away from the teasing, but he finds himself grinning anyway. </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>thank you for reading!! comments/kudos are greatly appreciated!!</p></blockquote></div></div>
</body>
</html>